Thaindian News

Legendary Oscar winning American actor Karl Madlen has died on Wednesday. His daughter, Mila Doermer has confirmed the news saying that the 97 year old actor, passed away due to natural causes at his home in Brentwood.

This academy award winning actor besides his acting skills was usually distinguished by his thinning hair and his bulging nose. Malden’s acting represented the plain speaking working class people of the 1950s, where he mainly played the lead. His significant works include his role as a suitor in “The Street Car Named Desire”, a patriarch in “How The West Was Won”, Gen. Omar Bradley in “Patton”, an angry husband in “Baby Doll”, besides other various roles that can be traced in more 50 films in which he has worked. Known as a “consummate actor” as actress Eva Marie Saint had once said about him, Karl Malden’s career was not restricted to acting only. He ventured into the small screen where his role as a police detective in the ABC series “The Streets Of San Francisco” captured the hearts of millions and his role as a coat-wearing American Pitchman became a trend in the 1970s.

He was quite humble about himself saying in an 2004 interview, “I never thought i was salable. i learned in my second year at drama school that i was not a leading man- i was a character actor. So, i thought I’d better be the best character actor around.”

He was the spokesperson of the American Express travelers checks for more than 20 years.
Malden is survived by his wife Mona Grenburg and their marriage is said to be the longest in the history of Hollywood. No cause of death has been reported.